Danger in Dream Entrance Play: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi   Download: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi (Excerpt from track 'Tyrell's Vision Part VI')

The promotional blurb describes this as 'New Berlin School'. By this they mean taking inspiration from the original pioneers of sequencer based music and expanding on it. The music runs as one continuous piece though there are actually five tracks. There are sequences by the fist full and each significant change is even given its own index point so you can easily search out the bits you like the most and play them again and again! The sound is much cleaner and digital sounding that on most out and out retro albums and reminded me a lot of Minds in Motion or even the Schmoelling inspired tracks from Arcane. Make no mistake this is a superb album that does give its own slant on the Berlin School style and should be enjoyed by most people who go for that type of sequencer music. It's the melodies however which are just as good as the sequences careering from one irresistible hook to the next.

It takes just a few seconds before the first rhythm / sequence combination surges forward. The sequences build beautifully but its really when the first melodic lead line hits home that 'Stratus 4' reveals its Tangerine Dream influences to the full. The lead lines get even better in the second section of this track as cosmic effects splash over a sequence which is in full flow. Just let yourself be carried along. The drums become more dominant in the third section mutating this way then that. It's incredibly infectious body moving stuff. 'Underwater Connections' has a suitably bubbly beginning then a quirky rhythmic loop starts up. The sequence that accompanies it is its perfect partner. I defy anyone not to have their feet, head and almost everything else moving to this. Then we get the lead line and - oh my goodness! What a track! This is one of those albums where there aren't enough superlatives in my limited vocabulary to describe it fully.

The second section increases the intensity and pure listening pleasure even further. Things are stripped down for the third part then reconstructed- utter bliss. On 'Conversation' a slow sequence emerges out of atmospheric effects. High pitched melodic touches glide over the top then the sequence is really cranked up becoming more intense all the time. The initial melody that accompanies it is scorching, flying high in the mix. This is then replaced by a deeper echoing one in part two. It doesn't shout at you as much as the first one but if anything is even more effective. Part three utilizes even deeper effects and the sequence becomes still faster and more complex. Another high register melody cries over the top and is answered by deeper ones lower in the mix. I was expecting it to end in some sort of explosion but instead it just winds down to a finish, like the threat of a storm which never breaks.